Festival celebrates Latino culture

Updated 11:10 pm, Saturday, August 31, 2013

On Saturday, daytime activities at Festival People en Español at the Convention Center benefited by being cool, cool, cool — and free, free, free.

Not much has changed in the light of day since 2012's maiden voyage of the two-day festival that celebrates Latino music, culture and pride.

Daytime attendance appeared to be flat, with an estimated 2,000 to 2,500 visitors milling about at any given time in Hall C to get in on the free swag, panel discussions, autograph signings, short music presentations and corporate-sponsored activities.

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Nighttime concerts, with headline acts like Gloria Estefan and Alejandro Fernandez, were expected to draw larger crowds, though organizers won't offer official numbers until Monday.

The day's family-friendly vibe is akin to that of a trade show with the added bonus of perhaps listening to former CNN anchor Soledad O'Brien interview Congressman Joaquín Castro about education and immigration or learning more about Jenni Rivera, the banda diva who died in a plane crash last December.

Such main stage events attracted between 500 and 750 visitors. It's fair to say, however, that more fans were interested in learning whether actress-singer Maite Perroni had a tattoo than about student loans.

Overall floor traffic appeared to reach 6,000 visitors.

First-time attendee Jacob Ramirez said he enjoyed the inviting air-conditioning as much as anything as he kept a watchful eye on his pre-teen stepdaughter and his newborn in a baby carriage.

“It keeps the kids busy,” Rodriguez said. He was talking about his two other stepchildren and his wife, who were getting a makeover in a salon sponsored by Target.

Jessica Estrada was one of those women, too. She waited two hours in line to get a makeover.

“Oh, my God!” Estrada gasped as a hair stylist spun her toward a mirror after her makeover. Usually she wears it in a ponytail, she explained.

“It was kind of a shock to see it so nice looking,” said Estrada, 27. She described the daytime event as “awesome.”

Not everyone was as convinced.

Patricia Andrade of Miami recently moved to San Antonio. Her impression is that Festival People en Español doesn't live up to similar festivals in Miami.

“This is nothing like Miami. The people get going more,” Andrade said. “San Antonio is so traditional, and outside of Texas people are more open-minded.”

It's a sure bet that corporate-sponsored booths look much the same state-to-state. Jeep's area looked like a dealership floor. McDonald's sponsored a soccer kick are for kids. Coca-Cola sponsored a dance party, albeit one that came with a warning and one of the day's most unusual costumes.

A sign posted right outside the
“al ritmo de Coca-Cola” area warned that entering the party meant irrevocable consent to be videotaped without any financial compensation for its future use.

That didn't stop dozens from dancing to Kool & the Gang and Daft Punk mixed with Latin music grooves.

At one point at the Coca-Cola zone, several folkloric dancers in traditional garb danced while wearing colorful hats, several of them designed to look like serving trays holding cans of Coke.

It was rare when marketing gave way to genuine moments such as when Congressman Castro called for passing comprehensive immigration reform in 2013 — or when Rivera family members came close to tears discussing the down-to-earth star.

For her brother, Juan Rivera, that moment came when discussing his sister's last terrifying moments in the sky and the outpouring from fans. “That made my sister a star, and for that I'm happy,” said Juan Rivera in Spanish.

Jenni Rivera's daughter, and reality TV co-star Chiquis Marin, still grieves. “It's very hard. The pain never goes away,” Marin said in Spanish. “My mom was a very strong woman and I have good blood in my veins. (But) if I wasn't her daughter, I'd be a fan.”